Twas the Night
by GoldenGirl
Summary: Prepare to be Heart Warmed. “I’m sorry about almost killing you,” Sarah said. “Oh, and merry Christmas.”


A/N: This fic is written for **Sm93Starbuck** as part of the **Holiday Fic Exchange Challenge**. Sm93Starbuck asked for Charah, Sarkin and gentle fluff, but didn't want the story to include slash, major fluff or Casey.

The prompt was: "Sarah realizes exactly how much she's come to enjoy the normal life on Christmas morning with the Bartowskis."

The minimum word count for this challenge was 1000. Suffice to say I've gone a bit batty. Thanks for reading and *hopefully* reviewing!

'Twas the Night

---

Without losing stride Chuck went over to the kitchen, grabbed two glasses of Ellie's famous eggnog, and came back into the living room to hand one to Sarah.

"Thanks," she said, taking a sip. "You know, I don't think I've ever actually had eggnog before. It's delicious."

"You've never had eggnog before?" Chuck asked, incredulous. "But it's a Christmas staple."

"You forget I never did much of the Christmas thing either."

"Well I'm really glad you decided to come tonight. You'll finally get to have a normal Christmas morning."

Sarah smiled, the distinct feeling of happiness welling up within her. She'd known Chuck for a total of two Christmas' already but had never fully committed herself to becoming part of the family, as she felt she was doing now by spending the night on Christmas Eve. At least it beat a night spent alone in her hotel room feeling sorry for herself.

"I'm really glad I'm here," she responded.

"Okay everyone!" Ellie announced. "The final episode of the _Twilight Zone_ marathon is about to start! Who's ready to watch?"

"Ooo, me!" Chuck said, shooting his hand up. Turning to Sarah he whispered, "This is going to be great."

She smiled, ready to indulge in every Christmas tradition she'd missed growing up. "Yeah, it is," she said.

.

**12 am**

**.**

Sarah sat beside Awesome, staring into her glass of eggnog; he, staring at a pink cardboard box on his lap.

"So they do this every year?"

"Every year," Awesome confirmed.

Ellie and Chuck were in the master bedroom hugging each other tightly, the blanket pulled up to their necks as they sat and watched "Living Doll," supposedly the scariest _Twilight Zone_ episode ever made. Apparently Chuck and Ellie had been scared by this episode ever since they were children and yet still forced themselves to watch it every Christmas Eve before turning in for the night. So scared of it were they that they couldn't watch it anywhere other than the safety of a bed. Sarah and Awesome were, of course, invited to share the tradition (and the bed) with them but there wasn't exactly enough room for anybody else.

And so the two significant others sat outside on the couch, thoroughly weirded out by this particular brother-sister Christmas tradition. But, having never had a "real" Christmas (that didn't involve stealing from charitable organizations or work-related stays in countries that didn't celebrate the holiday) Sarah couldn't be sure what constituted a "real" holiday tradition.

She looked over at Awesome. "So what's in the box?" she asked.

"Oh, just my own Christmas tradition," he said with a devious grin. He opened the small box and revealed half a dozen perfectly plump jelly donuts. "The way I see it, Sarah, Christmas is about two things: giving and receiving gifts."

"I thought it was about spending time with family..."

"Oh definitely. Absolutely. That's why I send my brothers cards every year telling them how sorry I am that I can't make the drive downtown, but gifts are what Christmas is all about. And what's the optimal way to get the most mileage out of giving and receiving? Give and receive your own gift. I do it every year- just a little treat for myself. My gift happens to be my one vice in life."

"Jelly donuts?"

"These 332-calorie-filled doughy pastries are the one unhealthy thing I allow myself to have once a year. And it's heaven."

Sarah nodded, feeling slightly sorry for the guy. To think there was something he so badly wanted every day that he never allowed himself to have.

"What about you, Sarah?" Awesome asked. "If you could give yourself one thing, what would it be?"

Sarah made a show of trying to think, though she knew instantly what it was she wanted. He was in the bedroom, hiding under the covers at the prospect of a child's toy coming to life.

"I'm not sure," she said shrugging.

"It's Chuck, isn't it?"

"What?" Sarah asked. "No! No."

"You love him."

Sarah grabbed the pitcher on the end table and poured herself another glass of eggnog, avoiding Awesome's question-- or rather, statement.

"I can't believe all this time you guys weren't really together and I bought it. The two of you make a very convincing couple."

"Do we?" Sarah asked, trying to be polite by maintaining the conversation while at the same time trying to avoid it altogether.

"Look, if it means anything, I'm really rooting for you two to make it work."

"Thanks, Devon."

They sat together in silence a bit longer, interrupted only intermittently by terrified, effeminate shrieks coming from Ellie and Awesome's bedroom.

"I know it's none of my business, but, can I ask you a personal question?" Awesome said.

Sarah shook her head 'no' but said, "Sure," anyway.

"Since you and Chuck are only in a fake relationship does that mean that you two have never... you know..."-- She did not like where this was going.-- "Done the horizontal mambo?"

"Uh." She coughed uncomfortably, but Awesome made no sign of retracting the question. "No, Devon, we never have."

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah."

"So neither of you has had sex for all this time?"

"I'm pretty sure Chuck has."

"What?" Awesome asked, shocked, if a little proud of his little brother-in-law. "With whom?"

"Jill. His ex."

"_What_?"

"I know."

"Have you....?"

"No."

"So you haven't had sex for going on three years?"

"Has it been that long?" Sarah asked giggling lightly, embarrassed because of course she knew it had been that long and surely Awesome knew that she knew too.

"_What_?"

"Yeah."

"Wow, Sarah. That is really, really, _not awesome_."

Sarah downed another glass of 'nog.

"Lots of people live a life of celibacy," Awesome said. "Holy people; monks, priests. Gandhi, I'm sure. Virgins. You're not alone, Sarah."

The forced smile plastered on her face was beginning to wane. "Is there any more of the eggnog?"

"The fridge is fully stocked," Awesome assured her, heading towards the kitchen. "I think I'll get myself a glass too."

12:16 am

Awesome closed his eyes in ecstasy as he finished off his donut. "When I bite into one of these babies I understand obesity."

Sarah nodded, downing her drink. "Donuts are awesome."

"That they are, Sarah. That they are."

12:21 am

"So you see, the concept of giving and receiving doesn't just apply to Christmas. It works in the bedroom too," Awesome said seriously. "How do you think Ellie and I make our relationship work?"

Sarah swallowed her drink like it was a shot.

12:24 am

"And that is the proper way to hold your attacker in a headlock," Sarah said, her arm encircling Awesome's neck.

"I can get out of this," he said grinning, excited for the challenge. "I'm bigger and stronger."

12:31 am

"I cannot get out of this!" Awesome choked out-of-breath.

Sarah smiled triumphantly.

12:33 am

"Here's something I always wondered," Sarah said, pouring herself another glass, "How do you perform the Heimlich Maneuver on someone who is so fat you can't wrap your arms around them?"

12:37 am

"And that is the proper way to spot a tranny," Awesome answered. "If I learned anything in Vegas, it was that, believe me."

12:40 am

"Cash for clunkers."

A fantastic spray of eggnog burst out of Awesome's pursed lips.

12:42 am

"But would it be a superhero uniform or more of, like, a ship captain? Because you could really go either way."

"You know, I've considered both options," Awesome answered thoughtfully, "because I would look _really_ awesome as a ship's captain, but if Captain Awesome were to be a comic book hero he'd have to wear some spandex. And I look really awesome in Spandex too. Maybe a superhero uniform made out to look like a sailor suit?"

"That could work."

12:45 am

"Ok," Awesome said, dipping a donut into his eggnog, "but the big question you gotta ask is, is kissing someone who just ate shrimp kosher?"

"Oh definitely not."

"That's what I thought."

12:46 am

"You're a doctor-- Do goldfish have souls?" Sarah asked nervously.

Awesome leaned forward, ready to answer the question in earnest, when Chuck and Ellie finally emerged from the bedroom, looking more scared than people ought to look on Christmas Eve.

"Hey guys!" Awesome bellowed, happy to see both of them again. "How was the show?"

"Talking Tina's going to give me nightmares," Chuck proclaimed.

"Yeah," Ellie agreed. "I think the marathon tired me out. Ready to turn in, Devon?"

Awesome got up to take Ellie's outstretched hand. "We'll finish our conversation in the morning?" he asked Sarah.

She nodded. "Goodnight Captain," she added, saluting.

"Merry Christmas, guys," Ellie said.

Chuck smiled and sat beside Sarah on the couch, happy to see that it looked like she had been enjoying herself while he was in the other room. He yawned, stretched, and leaned back, but his ears perked up when he heard Sarah saying something under her breath in between sips of eggnog. The more he listened the more it sounded like a song.

"Is that--," he strained to hear her better—"Is that _True_ by Spandau Ballet?"

"Hmm?" Sarah asked, in fact humming the tune to_ True_ by Spandau Ballet.

"You're singing 'True.'"

"Pfft," Sarah said, making a messy spitty noise with her mouth. "No I'm not."

Chuck began singing those famous first notes of the chorus. "_Huh huh huh hu-uh huh_…"

"_I know this much is true_," Sarah continued, singing just as quietly as she was before. "Oh. I guess I am singing."

Chuck chuckled. And so did Sarah. They chuckled together until Chuck realized that Sarah never chuckled. "Wait a minute," he said, realization dawning on him at a snail's pace. "Are you drunk?"

"Noooo," Sarah shot him down quickly. "All I've been drinking was eggnog."

"There's _liquor_ in eggnog!"

"There is?" Sarah asked, genuinely surprised by the fact. "Nobody… tol' me."

"Of course there is! How did you not know that?"

"Never had eggnog before."

"Sarah, Ellie puts rum, whiskey _and_ brandy in her eggnog."

"Really?" Sarah hiccupped. "All 'a those?"

"Ellie loves her alcohol!"

Sarah nodded and brought her glass to her lips. It was empty but she still tapped the bottom to try and get the last drop of the frothy concoction into her mouth. Chuck promptly lowered her glass. "How much eggnog did you drink?" he whispered.

Sarah looked down at her hands, curling her fingers and counting out loud. "Three," she finally answered.

"Okay, three," Chuck said, exhaling a sigh of relief. "That's not so bad."

"Maybe eight."

"Eight!?"

"Prolly 'leven."

"Is that… were you just trying to say _eleven_?"

Sarah nodded. "_I know this much is true, la la la huh huh yeah_."

.

**1 am**

**.**

Chuck held Sarah's hair as she relieved the contents of her eggnog-clogged stomach into the toilet. Chuck had always had the secret desire to be that guy who holds a girl's hair while she puked. He never pictured it'd be Sarah, though. And he never pictured it'd be on Christmas. His plans to make this a holiday she'd always remember were already starting to come undone.

When Sarah was done wrenching she headed straight for the sink and grabbed the bottle of Listerine that stood on it, unscrewing the top with fervor.

Chuck watched her carefully. "You know you're not supposed to swallow that." Sarah chugged away. "Yeeeah, you're going to get a whole lot more drunk now, aren't you?"

After grimacing Sarah wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and took a refreshing deep breath. "I feel better now."

"Awesome," Chuck said curtly, jumping to his feet. "Why don't we just get you to bed."

Chuck put his arm around her and led her across the hall into the guest room. As he pulled back the covers and retrieved a couple extra pillows from the closet Sarah took off her sweater, revealing a t-shirt underneath. She only barely fussed with taking her skirt off before climbing into bed.

Chuck realized he was again to be presented with the infuriatingly-sexy-because-it-was-so-off-limits Tee + Panties combo. He made a mental note of introducing Sarah to the concept of PJs with next year's Christmas gift and braced himself for a night of sleeping at a restraining order's distance from Sarah's body.

1:30 am

That didn't happen.

The moment Chuck's sleeping hand found itself involuntarily grazing Sarah's left butt cheek the floodgates opened up. He scooted closer in his sleep, his hands finding free range to roam over her shirt, her waist, and most importantly, her butt. Pretty soon the rest of his senses were joining in; his nostrils filled with the intoxicating scent of coconut shampoo and Listerine; his lips tasting tangy moisturizer on her bare elbow.

His feet joined the party too, toes and all playing a practiced game of one-sided footsie, feeling the smoothness of her calves, while his hands felt higher up, her firm thighs like the-- "_Ow_!" – Chuck drew his hand back quickly, waking up with a sharp, confusing pain in his fingers, like he'd just been cut.

"Chuck?" Sarah said, awake now too, if barely.

"You cut me!"

"I did?" she asked hazily, either coming out of sleep or falling back into it, unperturbed. "Imustillbedrunk."

He looked down at his fingers and saw the beaded blood of a fresh cut. "How did you cut me?" he asked, pulling back the blanket and looking down for the culprit. He discovered it to be a holster wrapped around Sarah's thigh holding a fairly large knife.

"Sarah!" Chuck whisper-shouted, "why is there a holster wrapped around your thigh holding a fairly large knife!"

"Keeps it warm," she mumbled.

"You should take that off before you… cut something off."

"Yeah," Sarah agreed. Her eyebrows rose up high in an effort to get her eyes open but her eyelids remained totally closed. "Yeah."

There was no conviction in her voice whatsoever and though her hands reached down to try and grab the holster her efforts were pitiful, at best. In fact, Chuck was pretty sure Sarah was halfway back to sleep already.

"Wassit… wassit a stabbing?"

"No, it wasn't a stabbing," he answered. "Why, do you often think of stabbing me in my sleep?"

"Yeah," Sarah muffled into her pillow. Chuck waited for the sound of laughter or at least one giggle indicating she was joking, but nothing came. "That was sarcasm, right Sarah?" More silence. "Dear god let that be sarcasm."

No answer.

"I'm just going to go ahead and take it off for you." No answer again, which Chuck was oddly thankful for this time. This would go better if she was fast asleep.

He tried looking for where the strap opened up without actually touching her at first but then realized that wouldn't exactly work out. As was his luck, the strap was on the inside of her thigh. He ran his fingers through his hair and tried to figure out the best strategy with which to approach the situation. After a moment of hesitation he decided to just get it over with quickly. His fingers fumbled, maybe even trembled, as they attempted to work the holster, trying to disturb her as little as possible.

He finally got the thing lose, and was able to slip it off without cutting anyone or disturbing Sarah's sleep, and yet his hand remained on her thigh. He'd dreamt about this before. He had had bad, very bad, inappropriate dreams about touching this very spot of hers and now that he was actually doing it he couldn't seem to stop himself. Even though the consequences of Sarah waking up suddenly and finding him like this-- crouched way too close to her panties-- could prove dire, he was enthralled by the feel of her; her skin was both warm and cool, her body heat emanating from the inside while the breeze coming from his window chilled her outside.

_I should probably get away from her thighs_, he thought. …_Just one more minut_e.

It was after this one more minute passed that he heard the dreaded, "Chuck?"

He froze. The smart thing to do would have been to retrieve his hand like he'd just been touching hot coals. But then, in moments of pure panic like this one, Chuck was not known for doing the smart thing. Hence the freezing. "Yes?" he asked Sarah innocently.

"What are you doing down there?"

Her voice sounded hazy still and Chuck prayed that she was too drowsy/drunk to actually catch him red-handed.

"Doing? Nothing. I'm not doing anything."

"Are we going to have sex, finally?"

Chuck stayed quiet, listening harder. Suddenly he was praying that she was no longer too drowsy/drunk to ask such a question. "Finally?" he said. "You want to have sex?" His brain started working overtime, thinking of the proper preparations for sex- he didn't live here so he didn't know where/if there were any condoms around, and Morgan had never paid back his IOU, and he wasn't packing either, so--

"It's been… three years… Awesome says…"

"Awesome?" Chuck asked in a high whisper. "What did Awesome say?"

"I'm not Ghandi," Sarah responded.

Yes, Chuck surmised, she was still definitely drowsy/drunk. He finally left his post down under and scooted back up to lay beside her. "We can't have sex," he explained, "because you're still drunk." And because she was drunk he felt free enough to admit: "We'll get to it eventually, though."

"Mhmm," she mumbled into her pillow. "Chuck?"

"Yeah, Sarah?"

"What's that music?"

"There's no music, Sarah. You're just very, very out of it."

"Sounds like Christmas caroling," she slurred.

"It's almost 2 am. No one's caroling right now."

As he tried to go back to sleep he realized there was some music coming from outside his window. The more he listened, the more it sounded like—

"Christmas carols?"

.

**2 am**

**.**

Chuck got out of bed and ran through the house until he got to the front door. When he opened it he was assaulted by the blaring techno beats of Jeffster! having, what appeared to be, a live concert in the courtyard.

"What are you guys doing out here?!" Chuck asked, whisper-shouting yet again.

"Well, Charles, let's see, it's Christmas Eve and there are people singing outside your door," Lester said during Jeff's keytar solo. "I think it's pretty obvious that we're caroling."

"Okay, a: it's two o'clock in the morning and b: _O Holy Night_ should _never_ have a keytar solo."

"'Tis the season to be jolly, Chuck!" Lester sang into his battery-operated microphone.

"Falalalala la la la la," Jeff joined in.

"Guys, I'm sorry to have to cut this short but you've gotta go. If Ellie wakes up before it's time to open presents she's going to kill you and then she's going to kill me by association."

"That's why we're here, Chuck!" Jeff stated. "We wanted to thank her for letting us play at her wedding."

"And what better way than to sing Christmas Carols on Christmas Eve," Lester finished off. "Free of charge but we'll accept donations. We take checks."

"I'm not writing you a check."

"Very well, Jeff brought his credit card machine if you'd rather do it that way."

Chuck was actually starting to consider paying the band so that they'd quit playing but a voice from behind him interrupted his thoughts.

"What is going on?" Ellie demanded, nudging past Chuck to see who was at the door. Awesome, shirtless as always, stood beside her.

"I had nothing to do with this," Chuck proclaimed.

"Elizabeth!" Lester called. "So glad you could join us. You're right on time for the best of the _Sister Act _soundtrack, which I understand to be your favorite movie."

"You!" Ellie yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the band. "You two ruined my wedding and now you're here to ruin Christmas! And you!" she pointed to Lester specifically, "You're Jewish! You shouldn't even be caroling!"

"Wow," Lester said. "Did anybody else find that slightly anti-Semitic?"

"Is this another Christmas tradition?" Chuck turned around at the sound of Sarah's voice. "Are we singing?"

"No, no we most certainly are _not_ singing," Chuck assured her. He looked her up and down, noting her hair was a disheveled bedhead brand of sexy and that she'd neglected put on a robe when she got out of bed so that she was still just in her skivvies. Even Jeffster stopped playing to take a look. And Chuck did not like the look in their eyes. Especially Jeff's.

Chuck left Sarah on the doorstep and went over to the band who were lingering by the fountain. "Look, guys," he said, trying to speak in a low voice so as not to be heard by the rest. "I'm, trying to give Sarah the best Christmas ever and so far it's not going as planned so could you two please just—"

"Not to worry, we've got the perfect song."

"That's really not what I was—"

"Hi Jester," Sarah said to Lester as she came to stand beside Chuck, a pleasant, lethargic smile on her face.

"We're Jeffster, actually," he corrected her. "And you are looking lovely this morning."

"And smelling minty fresh," Jeff added, his mouth agape. "I like that in a woman."

Even Sarah wasn't too drunk to be put off by Jeff's wink. And then the subsequent second wink. "Do you know _True_? By Xanadu Ballet?"

"Jeffrey, we just got our first request!" Lester hooted.

"Sarah, it's two in the morning and you're standing outside in your underwear," Chuck said turning to her.

"So 're you."

Chuck looked down and realized that she was totally right on that front. "Ok, touché, but at least my pupils aren't dilated."

Sarah grabbed the mic from Lester and brought it to her lips, taking a stance in front of the band. "Chuck, Ellie, Captain Awesome," she began, addressing the small crowd at the door, "I want to thank you for inviting me into your family. And I want to thank you by singing a little song."

A part of Chuck wanted to stop Sarah from humiliating herself, singing outside in her underwear in the middle of the night, and another part of him just wanted to sit back and enjoy the show. Frankly, Chuck could never even picture Sarah getting drunk and he knew this was a rare opportunity; it was like getting a rare glimpse of Bigfoot. A drunk Bigfoot.

The same things that made Sarah a good spy (her level-headedness, professionalism, stealth) were the things that made her, ironically enough, a really fun drunk person to watch. In her drunk state she tried acting as sober as possible which only made her drunkenness more obvious. Like now, the way she was trying to comb her fingers through her hair to make herself more presentable, and almost losing her balance in the process. A drunk Sarah acted like a Sarah who tried to convince the world she wasn't drunk.

"_So true funny how it seems always in time, but neeeever in line for dreams …"_

Chuck couldn't help but smile as he watched her. She nearly tripped over her feet as she took a few tentative steps from side to side, fiercely concentrating on getting the words right and speaking clearly into the microphone. Her singing was hardly louder than a whisper, and it wasn't technically good, but Chuck was absolutely enjoying himself.

And so was Awesome, by the looks of it. His pearly whites were on full display as he grinned widely, bobbing to the music. "She is awesome," he said. He leaned over to Chuck and-- whispering so that Ellie couldn't hear-- continued, "How have you not hit that yet?"

Chuck spun around, both stunned and angry. "You had to get her drunk didn't you?! How could you let her have all that eggnog?! And how come you're not drunk?!"

"Well I only had one glass. Eggnog is full of carbs, bro."

"And you just let her keep guzzling them down?!"

"I thought we were both indulging in our vices. Me with my donuts and her with the eggnog. It's pretty obvious Sarah doesn't get drunk too often."

"Ya think!"

"Well I think it's nice," Ellie chimed in. "Sarah's singing us a song, guys. Sure, she's off-key and _True_ is starting to sound a lot like _Papa Don't Preach_, but it's the thought that counts."

"_Cuz I made up my mind,_ _I'm keeping my baby_," Sarah sang, "_I know this much is true_."

She stared right at Chuck when she said those words, and even if she was very very drunk on Listerine and an ungodly amount of eggnog, Chuck felt she was singing specifically to him.

"_Huh huh huh hu-uh huh, I know this much is truuue_."

He grinned at the way her voice ticked up at "true," but he stopped grinning when he saw Lester try and sing alongside her.

He began singing into the microphone now too, rocking out like a rock god, or at least a magician on acid, but Sarah was not into the idea of sharing the mic and turned away from him. He tried to grab it out of her hands and she responded by shoving him in the shoulder. "This is my song," she insisted.

"And this is my band!"

"I can kick your ass!" Sarah said, throwing the mic to the ground and stepping up to Lester, ready to pounce.

"Chick fight!" Jeff announced.

"Okay, I think that's enough for tonight!" Chuck said intervening. He put an arm around Sarah and started leading her back into the house.

"Did you like my song?"

"Loved it."

She laid her head on his shoulder the whole way back in.

"Happy Hanukka," Ellie said before closing the door in Jeffster's face.

.

**3 am **

.

When Sarah went back to sleep she had a dream that was actually a memory.

She was in the middle of the desert, crouching behind a deep trench, bullets whizzing above her head every few seconds. And Bryce was there with her. "Pass me that gun!" her partne shouted.

Sarah handed him a new gun and he began shooting away, ducking for cover after a few shots. "Hey, Sarah!" Bryce said.

"Yeah!" she said over the noise, explosions happening all around them.

"Merry Christmas!"

"What?!" she answered, staring at him because she wasn't sure if she'd heard him right.

"I said merry Christmas!" Bryce repeated. "It's Christmas Morning!"

"It is?!"

"Yes! I got you a present!"

"Bryce! We're kind of in the middle of something!" she shot back, ducking for cover once more as a bullet narrowly missed her head.

"I know! But if we die here tonight, I wanted you to have this!" Briefly peeking above the trenches, Bryce dug into his pocket a retrieved a bag. He grabbed Sarah's hand and shook the contents into it. She looked down at the gleaming diamond-studded necklace in awe. "Bryce," she said, her voice drowned out by the tumult surround them. She'd never gotten such an extravagant gift before, and frankly she felt a little undeserving of it.

"I got it from a Sultan in Saudi Arabia!" Bryce went on. "If we survive this I want you to wear that tonight and nothing else!"

"Ok!" Sarah agreed.

"Merry Christmas!" Bryce shouted, firing off the last of his bullets.

It had been Sarah's most normal Christmas to date, and one of her most cherished ones for that very reason.

The dream/memory would have continued for longer if it wasn't for something pulling Sarah back to reality.

.

**4 am**

**.**

She could feel a new weight on the bed even before she was fully awake; a pressure beside her. If she thought it was Chuck she would have let it slide, having always enjoyed the feel of him next to her, but her instinct, even in sleep, told her that this was not Chuck. And when that thought entered her head Sarah's eyes flew open.

"Oh hey, Sarah. Didn't mean to wake you."

Sara leaped out of the bed. "Morgan!" she hissed.

After an awkward minute of silent staring on Morgan's part, she yanked the blanket from the bed and draped it over her shoulders to cover herself up. "Morgan, what are you doing here?!"

"Uh, it's Christmas," Morgan stated as if it were obvious. He nestled into the space on the bed formally occupied by Sarah.

"Do you always climb into Chuck's bed in the middle of the night on Christmas?"

"Every year since middle school," Morgan answered. "Did Chuck not tell you I was coming?"

"I must have missed the memo."

"Hey, there's room in here for all three of us," he went on. "There's no need for you to have to stand there all night."

"Thanks," Sarah answered slowly, "but I'm not getting into bed with you."

"Suit yourself," Morgan yawned. "But the floor's pretty hard on your back. Don't say I didn't warn you."

She watched as the little bearded man made himself comfortable even without a blanket, going so far as to move closer to Chuck, who still-- unbelievably-- slept soundly. She continued watching, incredulously now, as Chuck draped his sleeping arm over Morgan's waist.

This was one Bartowski Christmas tradition that Sarah wanted no part of.

"Hmm," Morgan said. "Chuck's very hands-on tonight. Did I interrupt something?"

"Just my sleep," Sarah murmured under her breath, looking around the dark room for Chuck's chair to sit in. Her attention was brought back to the bed, however, when she heard Chuck's voice.

"Sarah," he said.

She was going to answer but then realized Chuck was still asleep, and apparently talking to Morgan. "Sarah," Chuck said again, caressing Morgan's arm.

"That's not me, Chuck," Sarah whispered. She didn't know why she was talking to him while he slept but she still felt like she should say it. Defend herself. She had much better arms than Morgan.

"Sarah," Chuck said again, running his hand through Morgan's hair.

"Chuck!" Sarah said, louder this time. "Chuck, that's Morgan. That's… _obviously_ Morgan."

"Oh, Sarah," Chuck said, in something disturbingly akin to a moan, his fingers roaming over Morgan's beard.

"Are you kidding me?" Sarah was beginning to wonder if she was the only one who had had too much to drink that night.

As anybody with a ticklish beard would, Morgan started giggling. "Hee!" he whooped, laughing harder. "Sarah, don't wake him up! This is too much fun!"

"Sarah," Chuck murmbled yet again.

Ignoring Morgan's wishes Sarah went to Chuck's side of the bed and poked him in the arm. Hard. "Chuck!"

"Talking Tina!" Chuck yelled, waking up with a start. He screamed seeing Morgan beside him and jumped out of bed. "Morgan!"

"Merry Christmas, buddy. Just like old times."

"No! No, not like old times! You can't just break in like you used to! I don't even live here!"

"Ok, your mouth is saying one this but your actions a minute ago were clearly saying another."

"Where's Sarah?" Chuck spun quickly to find her standing beside him, arms crossed over her chest in what was clearly an angry posture. "Sarah. You're up."

She nodded.

"I'm so sorry about this. I didn't know he was coming."

"Uh, _he's_ standing right here," Morgan protested. "Actually, _laying_ right here. Which is what you two should be doing right now. I mean, it's four in the morning. And this bed is super comfy. And warm. I guess I should be thanking the two of you for that." He positioned himself smack in the middle of the bed and patted the available spaces on either side of him. "Come on guys, join in."

Sarah and Chuck looked at one another.

.

**5 am**

**.**

Even though the bed was back with its rightful owners Sarah couldn't go back to sleep. She'd been up for awhile now, tossing and turning until finally deciding to give up and accept the fact that she was the only one awake in the whole house. Even Morgan, curled into a ball on the floor beside the bed, was snoring blissfully.

And then there was Chuck.

Sarah stared up at the ceiling.

He was on his side and facing her, eyes closed and far away in dreamland, probably.

The ceiling. Never was a plain white ceiling so interesting before.

But why didn't Chuck ever murmur her name when she was right there next to him?

Her eyes bore holes into that ceiling until she couldn't avoid looking at him any longer. Though it was dark, the muted blue of oncoming dawn peeked through the window blinds and she could see his face. There was a crease between his eyebrows that gave him a dour expression. She reached for it with her thumb and gently smoothed it out until there wasn't a crease anymore. But when she was done doing that her fingers missed him. She gently ruffled the hair flopping over his forehead then brushed it to the side. The crease in his forehead returned. She probably should have stopped touching him at that point but her body rejected that idea. She wanted to curl into him; to let him envelop her in his arms so that she could finally fall asleep. She wanted that so badly. Instead she rested her palm on his cheek, making peace with the fact that this was as far as the touching would go tonight.

But it wasn't long before Sarah's uninterrupted fascination of him came to a halt. A noise from the living room that sounded very much like someone not trying to make a noise made her snap her head in the door's direction.

Sarah rose from the bed quickly and quietly, carefully stepping over Morgan. Barefoot, she silently opened the door and tip-toed into the hallway, looking around the corner to find the source of the noise. She'd had her spy guard down before and Morgan had made it all the way into her bed. She wasn't taking any chances this time. What she spied was Santa Claus trying to steal the TV.

Sarah tip-toed into the kitchen and grabbed one of the larger knives out of the holder on the counter before making her silent way back into the living room. "Freeze," she said aloud.

Santa Claus turned around, and seeing the butcher knife raised above Sarah's head, slowly put his hands up in surrender. "Merry Christmas, Sarah?"

Sarah brought her arm down. "Damn it," she said, rolling her eyes at herself for actually threatening Awesome-- inexplicably dressed in a Santa suit-- with a weapon. "I'm sorry." She ran her hands through her hair and sank into the couch. I thought you were an intruder."

Awesome pulled down his fake Santa beard. "I don't want to tell you how to do your job, Sarah, but aren't you supposed to be holding a gun when you say 'freeze'?"

"I can throw this thing pretty fast," she explained, flippantly flicking her wrist.

"Nice," Awesome said. "I'm sorry for waking you."

"Let me guess: dressing like Santa Claus at 5 am is an annual family tradition?"

"That it is," Awesome answered. "I'm used to getting up this early for work. But on Christmas morning Ellie and I usually head over to the children's ward at the hospital to give out presents. The kids love seeing me as Santa Claus."

Sarah smiled. "Of course they do." She felt even worse now for almost killing him. Really, she was _this_ close. "But why were you taking the TV?"

"I got a new one I wanted to set up before everyone wakes up. It's my gift to the Mrs."

"Well, that actually makes sense."

He took a seat beside her on the couch. "You ok? You seem a little on edge."

Sarah shrugged noncommittally. "This is supposed to be a normal Christmas and instead I almost killed Santa Claus."

"Come on," Awesome scoffed. "I don't think you could've killed me that easily."

Sarah stared at him evenly.

"Ok, fine, maybe you could have. The point is I'm alive. And everyone else is still asleep. Crisis averted. We can still go on to have a wonderful Christmas morning."

"Ok."

"Ok. Hey, any luck with the 'giving and receiving' in the bedroom we talked about earlier?"

Sarah vaguely remembered trying to forget about that part of her conversation with Awesome. Specifically because she didn't much feel like talking about all the nookie she wasn't getting in the bedroom.

"Morgan's in our room."

And that was all she had to say as she watched Awesome's face darken. "Well I'm sure there's still a way for you to make Chuck's Christmas."

"And for him to make mine," she prompted. "Right?"

"I don't mean to spoil Christmas for you, Sarah, but that's sort of out of the question. Chuck already showed me your present and on behalf of my little brother-in-law I feel I should apologize in advance for him."

Sarah frowned. "I'm sure it's a great present."

"Can you do me a solid and just act really happy when you get it? I tried coaching him in the ways of properly gifting a woman but he declined all of my advice."

She had briefly wondered what Chuck had in store for her, but now her curiosity was boiling over.

Awesome stood up. "I should get back to installing the TV."

Sarah stood too. "I'm sorry about almost killing you," she said. "oh, and merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas, Sarah."

.

**6 am**

**.**

When Sarah walked back into the bedroom she was surprised to find Chuck sitting up in bed, fully awake and apparently waiting for her.

"What are you doing up?" she whispered, stepping over Morgan on her way to the bed.

"I don't know," Chuck whispered back. "You weren't next to me and I guess I just… woke up."

She thought about that as she sat down next to him and it made her feel good for some reason.

"What were you doing up?" Chuck asked.

"I couldn't go back to sleep."

"Because of Morgan? I'm going to kill him."

"No, it's not his fault. You guys have your Christmas traditions; Ellie and her eggnog and Morgan's sleepovers and Awesome's Santa suit. I think I'm the proverbial bull in the china closet, stepping all over everything."

"No, no, Sarah, not at all," Chuck quickly shot her down, placing a comforting hand on her arm. "You belong in that… china closet. I guess. What I mean is, you being here is just the way it's supposed to be. I can't imagine going through Christmas without you."

He stopped like he'd said too much and he let his hand fall awkwardly from her shoulder. "Wait, you saw Awesome in his Santa suit?" he asked. "Please tell me it was an actual Santa suit and not a red speedo with mistletoe down the front."

"What? No."

"Ok good," Chuck said, sighing in relief. "Because one year I woke up in the middle of the night and kind of unwittingly interrupted my sister's Christmas surprise… but that's neither here nor there."

Sarah laughed, sneaking a peek at Morgan to make sure she wasn't being too loud. "He told me you got me a really great present."

"He did?" Chuck whispered skeptically. "Because the impression I got from him is that it's the worst present I could possibly give a girl."

The curiosity was killing her. "You know, it is technically Christmas morning. I can just open the present now and be my own judge."

Without a word Chuck went to the closet and dug up a box from within it. "I didn't want to put this one under the tree. I wouldn't want to see the look on Ellie's face when you opened it." He sat back down and handed it to her, bigger than a jewelry box but smaller than a shoe box.

"Wait," Chuck said, stopping Sarah before she could tear off the wrapping paper. "I really wanted to get you something to show you how much you mean to me but then I thought-- nothing tops my mom's bracelet. So I decided to go for something I thought you might like. So... I hope you do like it."

Chuck was being so earnest that Sarah's heart was already melting, bad gift or no. She prepared herself to smile, as Awesome had instructed, in case the gift was totally wrong for her.

She carefully tore the paper until she was left with a wooden box. Opening it she found an expensive-looking set of throwing knives. The most beautiful throwing knives she could ever hope for. And she honestly didn't have to fake the smile that spread onto her face.

"Chuck," she said, picking up one of the knives and stroking the edge with her fingertips, enthralled by its sheen, "they're beautiful."

Chuck's face lit up and he grinned unabashedly. "Really? You like them?"

She wouldn't have known how to react if Chuck had given her and overly romantic gift, or, on the opposite end, a gift that she had no need or desire for. But the knives showed her that he knew her all too well. It wasn't a diamond necklace from a sultan in Saudi Arabia but it was the kind of gift Sarah had always wanted to get from someone and never thought she would.

"I love them."

She leaned forward and, to her surprise and his, kissed Chuck, still holding one of the knives as she cupped his cheek. The blade was dangerously close to his skin but even with her eyes closed and her mind somewhere else entirely Sarah could still handle her knives.

Chuck's eyes were still closed and his lips still parted by the time Sarah pulled away. "Merry Christmas, Chuck."

"That," Chuck said, filling his lungs with air again, "was the best present anyone's ever gotten me."

"There's more," Sarah said, leaning in again and proceeding to kiss chuck once more, more aggressively this time; hands-in-hair and all that. Chuck let himself be kissed and let himself be lowered back onto the bed and let himself be roamed by Sarah. He returned the favor, flipping her so that she could be the one laying comfortably as he ravished her every inch. This was his present, after all.

"Wait," Sarah said breathlessly. "What about Morgan?"

"We can be very quiet."

After a second's deliberation they both seemed to agree that this was a sufficient enough plan.

.

**7 am**

**.**

Morgan awoke with a scream as a box of knives slipped off the bed and onto his head.

The knives had been forgotten in Chuck and Sarah's acts of abandon until now when, after a whole night of wanting to snuggle close, Chuck and Sarah finally did just that-- subsequently (and accidently) kicking the box to the floor in the process.

"What did I ever do to you!" Morgan whined, pointing the stray knives accusingly.

Chuck winced, feeling apologetic but not enough to leave Sarah's side. He nuzzled his chin into the crook of her neck and yawned, "Sorry, Buddy."

"It's ok," Morgan said absent-mindedly rubbing his forehead. "Hey, it's Christmas morning! Is that Santa I hear?"

"It's Awesome," Chuck and Sarah responded simultaneously.

"Santa Awesome!" Morgan bounded out of the room.

"Do you want to go open presents?" Sarah asked.

"I've got my present right here," Chuck said, squeezing Sarah's waist with a strong arm. "Besides, I don't know if I could actually go and have normal human conversations right now. I might explode with happiness."

Sarah grinned, her eyes dancing with the same happiness he spoke of. "Come on," she said, sitting up and pulling on his arm. "It's tradition."

"Fine," Chuck finally gave in. "But we should probably put on some pants."

---

Chuck and Sarah walked into the living room to find Ellie unwrapping one of her presents and Awesome trying to get Morgan off of his lap.

"Merry Christmas everyone," Chuck said, holding Sarah close to him at his side. "SARAH AND I TOTALLY LOVE EACH OTHER AND THIS IS THE BEST CHRISTMAS EVER!"

His declaration quieted everyone in the room, including Sarah, who was as surprised to hear it as anyone else. But she smiled and shrugged her consent.

"That's great, Chuck," Ellie laughed, coming over to give her brother a hug. Awesome finally freed himself and came to pull Sarah aside.

"You did some 'giving and receiving,' didn't you?" Before Sarah could even give her response Awesome hugged her. "You don't have to thank me," he said.

Sarah looked around. Despite all the shenanigans that had happened throughout the night she was happy to see that she was finally enjoying a normal Christmas morning. And everything was perfect.

The End.


End file.
